Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss a letter she wrote along with 14 Republican colleagues to the new commissioner of the Social Security Administration voicing her concerns about the agency, as well as budget negotiations within Congress.
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00:00Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now
00:06is Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining me.
00:11I want to first start off the conversation today with a letter you, as well as 14 other
00:16Republicans, wrote to the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration,
00:20voicing some of the concerns you have. Can you talk to us about the letter,
00:23as well as some of those issues that you brought up?
00:25Well, Social Security is an incredibly important program that so many of our senior citizens and
00:32fellow Americans with disabilities rely on. And we wanted to make sure that the new administrator
00:38understands that we are concerned about any cuts to staffing or customer service or any closures for
00:48customer service centers that could impact the service and accessibility that our constituents
00:55have to the program. And so, you know, it was a letter of congratulations to the administrator
00:59with a with a very important ask that he addressed these concerns, because there's been a lot of,
01:07you know, misinformation and people are unsure exactly what is going on with the agency.
01:13And under his leadership, we want to make sure that he's going to do everything that he can
01:18to make sure that our senior citizens, our constituents who have paid into this program
01:23for a long time deserve to ensure that not only they receive their benefits, but it's not
01:28difficult to do. And, you know, this is all part of our commitment to not only preserving Social
01:35Security, but making sure that our constituents pay less taxes on Social Security, which is something
01:42we're working very diligently on in this reconciliation bill, but also make sure that the customer service
01:48advocates are there to answer questions and to make sure that their payments are made on time.
01:54To your point, the letter did say we commend and support the continued efforts to make our bloated
01:58bureaucracy more efficient for the American people. But it goes on to say to use caution for those
02:03staffing cuts and other things. Is there any disruptions that you've seen that your constituents
02:08seen from people getting their benefits?
02:10Well, there's been years of issues at the Social Security Administration as it relates to customer
02:18service. And there have been reports of very long wait times, sometimes up to up to two hours and
02:25maybe even more for people to try to get somebody using the call center. My office has had to intervene
02:32numerous occasions over the last few years on behalf of constituents to try to get their Social Security
02:40issues resolved. And that shouldn't be, you know, a citizen who's a taxpaying citizen entitled to this
02:47money that they have put in and now, you know, taking back, they should not have to go through hoops or
02:54contact their member of Congress to get access or fix something. We've even had, you know, constituents
03:01that Social Security Administration had marked as dead and are very much still alive. And we've had to
03:07intervene on their behalf or we've had Social Security checks stolen that have had to be reissued or we've
03:14had people who have been waiting for Social Security disability who have really had long delays and we've
03:21had to intervene to get them the money they were entitled to. Again, this has been a problem for years.
03:27We're happy to always help as a congressional office, but it shouldn't come to that. The system should be
03:31working efficiently and effectively so constituents can go right to the customer service line and get
03:39what they need. On President Trump's 100th day in office, in a press release from the agency, they said
03:45that they've been partnering with Doge and they've chartered this new course that prioritizes enhancing
03:50customer service and reducing waste, fraud and abuse. Do you think in the past three months that
03:56perhaps they've cut too much, Doge has cut too much in the SSA? Well, we haven't heard an uptick in
04:04considering complaints since those cuts, but we do know that the customer service has always been
04:12dismal and therefore any cuts could have an impact, which is exactly why we wrote the letter. We want to
04:18make sure that they're not cutting overhead that is necessary to fully and effectively implement the
04:26program. And that's exactly the point. And, you know, our Ways and Means Committee has also sent a
04:31letter to the new administrator asking him to come testify before Congress to address some of our
04:38concerns. And has the commissioner responded to your letter as of yet? Well, it was just sent and he was
04:44confirmed two days ago. I don't even think he's moved into his office yet. So we didn't expect a
04:49response that quickly, but we do anticipate that we will not only get a response, but that he will
04:53come in the near future before the Ways and Means Committee to answer our questions and give him an
04:58opportunity to hear his thoughts on how he's going to improve the system, improve accessibility.
05:04And we look forward to that. I now want to pivot to the budget and Congress continues to negotiate
05:09President Trump's budget plan. There have been concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
05:14that there will need cuts from Medicaid in order to pay for his agenda. Where are you in these
05:20conversations? What does it look like on potential Medicaid cuts? Well, I think the bill is coming
05:25together rather well. The Ways and Means Committee is is wrapping up its work. And I think that we're
05:31coming up with some really great provisions that will cut taxes for our senior citizens, for working
05:37Americans, for our middle class families. And I think people will be pleased to see that we're allowing
05:44these hardworking middle class taxpayers to keep more of their money. It is so incredibly important
05:49when we talk about reducing taxes that our seniors pay on Social Security or, you know, reducing taxes
05:54on our tipped employees or increasing the SALT deduction for people that I represent, middle class
06:00families in Staten Island and Brooklyn. These are all incredibly important provisions that will help
06:05them. Now, on the Medicaid space, we've also been very successful in pushing back on any
06:10substantive cuts that any cuts that would have an effect on the benefits that our seniors, our disabled,
06:19children with disabilities rely on, our vulnerable citizens. So we're looking to make some modest
06:26changes that will improve the program by getting rid of the fraudsters, getting rid of the illegal
06:32immigrants, and also ensuring that, you know, able-bodied young Americans are working. And so that's what we
06:40are our goal is, and I think we're going to be able to get there. What we've made clear is we will not
06:45support anything that lowers the reimbursement rates that our states receive right now from the
06:51federal government on the traditional Medicare, which is 50% for New York State. And we're, you know,
06:59we're discussing other ideas and other options here. And I think we're going to get to a good place where,
07:05you know, we will be able to protect those beneficiaries that have relied, and who the
07:10program, by the way, was intended for, our seniors, our disabled, and people, children with disabilities,
07:16and our most vulnerable citizens, but also make the reforms necessary to root out the waste, the fur,
07:21and abuse, which has become rampant, particularly in states like New York. Even our governor, our attorney
07:27general, our state controller have highlighted the abuse. There have been numerous arrests of fraudsters,
07:33and when we root that out, there's more money in the program for those people who truly need it.
07:40And that's what we want to do. Make sure we preserve it for those individuals.
07:44The number out right now is that the Energy and Commerce Committee, which we know controls the
07:49policy surrounding Medicaid, needs to find $880 billion to cut. Is there $880 billion of waste,
07:57fraud, and abuse happening with Medicaid? I've talked to some of your Democratic colleagues,
08:01and they say no. So where is the math going to shape up there? Yeah, well, within the Medicaid space,
08:06it's about $500 billion in waste and fraud over, really fraud, over the next 10 years, which is, so it's
08:14$500 of the $880. But then you got to remember, there's many other provisions. So it's not just going to
08:19come from the Medicaid space. There's going to be energy components to this. There's going to be broadband
08:25spectrum. There's going to be other pieces to this that can make up the rest. Now, obviously,
08:30the goal should be to get as close to $880 billion as possible. But if we fall short, you know,
08:37the rules are really, even though those are our instructions in the House, the rules that really
08:42apply to the reconciliation process are the ones in the Senate. And their target was much, much lower
08:47than the House. So I think we'll figure something out in the middle between what the House and the
08:52Senate is instructing. And we can achieve this and do some good work, and still preserve this
08:58important program. And the President's made clear, he is not going to cut benefits for individuals on
09:05Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. We're not even discussing Medicare and Social Security in this
09:11process. So really, with Medicaid, it's very targeted, it's very limited. And again, it's work
09:16requirements, making sure legal immigrants no longer benefit from these Medicaid dollars.
09:21And some of the other things, maybe the provider tax that the states are, you know, putting a cap on
09:29the provider tax that the states are putting on medical facilities to get more state federal funds.
09:35There's little things there that can make up a lot of the savings without touching the actual benefits.
09:42As budget negotiations continue, I hope you come back on and talk to me and break them down. I do just
09:47want to get your reaction before we go. Right before you and I hopped on, a new pope was elected. He is
09:52American. Cardinal Robert Prevost from Chicago. What's your reaction?
09:57Well, this is wonderful news for all Catholics worldwide, particularly those who are American. And all
10:04Americans should rejoice and celebrate the fact that for the first time in history, we have an American
10:10Pope. And we're very proud of that. And we join our Catholic friends in celebrating this wonderful
10:17moment. I think it gives our country great pride. It gives the Christian community of which I'm a member
10:22great pride. And it really should make all Americans very proud to see one of our own American citizens
10:30ascend to this incredibly important position and leadership of so many Catholics across the world. And so we wish him well, we pray for
10:40him. And we really look forward to the day that I personally have never met him. But we wish Pope Leo well. And we look
10:50forward to meeting him in the near future. Hopefully he'll be able to come before Congress and address our
10:55institution. Well, I look forward to that. Thank you so much for the conversation per usual. You're welcome back
11:01anytime. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. Thank you. Have a great day.